Junior Rasmussen
Princess Diana's wedding dress is considered one of the most iconic bridal gowns of all time. Designed by the husband-and-wife team of David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the silk taffeta dress was hand-embroidered with mother-of-pearl sequins and an estimated 10,000 pearls. It featured a dramatic 25-foot train, antique lace from Queen Mary, and a good luck charm—an 18-carat diamond-studded horseshoe. The dress was last exhibited at Kensington Palace in 2021, but its current location is unknown. This article will explore the dress's design, history, and cultural impact, as well as any plans for future exhibitions.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Wedding dress designer | David and Elizabeth Emanuel |
| Wedding dress style | Ball gown |
| Wedding dress fabric | Silk, taffeta, tulle |
| Wedding dress colour | Ivory |
| Wedding dress details | Puffed sleeves, ruffled collar, voluminous skirt, 25-foot train, 153-yard veil |
| Wedding dress "something old" | Antique lace from Queen Mary |
| Wedding dress "something blue" | Blue bow inside the bodice |
| Wedding dress "something new" | The gown itself |
| Wedding dress "something borrowed" | Diamond earrings belonging to her mother, Frances Shand Kydd |
| Wedding dress good luck charm | 18-carat horseshoe trinket studded with white diamonds |
| Wedding dress display | The Princess Diana Museum, Kensington Palace |
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What You'll Learn
The dress was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel
Princess Diana's wedding dress was designed by the husband-and-wife duo, Elizabeth and David Emanuel. The Emanuels were relatively unknown when they received the commission to design the royal wedding dress. However, the experience of designing a royal wedding dress placed intense pressure on them, as they had to balance royal traditions with Princess Diana's wishes.
The Emanuels' design was a silk-and-taffeta wedding dress, hand-embroidered with mother-of-pearl sequins and an estimated 10,000 pearls. The dress featured lace-trimmed puff sleeves, a ruffled neckline, a ball gown silhouette, and a 25-foot train. The dress also included antique lace from Queen Mary as Princess Diana's "something old" and a blue bow inside the bodice as her "something blue".
The dress was kept a secret prior to the wedding, with strict measures in place to ensure its privacy. The designers installed heavy window blinds and stored their sketches and fabric swatches in a safe. The Emanuels even put scraps of unused fabric in the garbage in case members of the press went looking for clues.
The dress became a defining moment in the Emanuels' careers, bringing them global fame. They experienced a surge in demand from famous women around the world and became a household name. The Emanuels also designed several other clothing items for Princess Diana, including evening gowns and a blouse she wore for her official engagement portrait.
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It featured antique lace from Queen Mary
Princess Diana's wedding dress is one of the most iconic gowns ever worn by a royal bride. The dress was made of ivory silk taffeta and antique lace, with a 25-foot (7.6 m) train and a 153-yard (140 m) tulle veil. It was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who described it as a dress that "had to be something that was going to go down in history, but also something that Diana loved". The Emanuels were the only people who knew about Princess Diana's dress, and they helped conceptualize the design of her veil. The gown was decorated with hand embroidery, sequins, and 10,000 pearls, centering on a heart motif.
The bodice of the dress featured a piece of antique Carrick-ma-cross lace that once belonged to King Charles III's great-grandmother, Queen Mary. The provenance of the historic lace can be traced back to a letter dated July 8, 1981, from Margaret Bartlett, the Head of the Work Room at the Royal School of Needlework. In the letter, addressed to Diana's wedding dress designers, Elizabeth and David Emanuel, Bartlett revealed that the flounce of Carrick-ma-Cross lace was donated by Queen Mary. The inclusion of this antique lace from Queen Mary added to the historical significance and grandeur of Princess Diana's wedding ensemble.
The dress was considered one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history, and it set wedding fashion trends after the royal wedding in 1981. It was on display in the exhibition "Royal Style in the Making" at Kensington Palace, which closed on January 2, 2022. Princess Diana's wedding dress, with its intricate details and historical connections, continues to be a source of fascination and inspiration for bridal fashion and royal enthusiasts worldwide.
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It had a 25-foot train
Princess Diana's wedding dress is arguably the most iconic gown worn by a royal bride. The ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with its awe-inspiring 25-foot train, is one of the most famous dresses in the world. The train, along with the dress, was designed by the former husband-and-wife duo David and Elizabeth Emanuel. The dress was hand-embroidered with mother-of-pearl sequins and an estimated 10,000 pearls. The gown was valued at £9,000 at the time, which is equivalent to $43,573 in 2023.
The 25-foot train was a detail that Princess Diana did not see until a few days before her wedding. The designers were unable to fully show her the dress and the train until the final fitting. The length of the train posed some difficulties during the fittings, as Diana had lost a significant amount of weight before the wedding. The seamstress was concerned about her weight loss and feared the dress might not fit as it should. The designers also faced a challenge when they realized too late that they had not accounted for the train's length in relation to the size of the glass coach that Diana and her father rode in to the ceremony. The train was badly crushed, and this accounted for the visible wrinkles in the wedding gown upon her arrival at the cathedral.
The dress was last exhibited at Kensington Palace in the exhibition 'Royal Style in the Making', which closed on 2 January 2022. Princess Diana instructed in her will that her dress be entrusted to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, once Harry turned 30. Before this, the dress was kept at the family's Althorp estate in Northampton, where it was displayed twice a year.
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The dress was displayed at Kensington Palace
Princess Diana's wedding dress was displayed at Kensington Palace, her former home, in an exhibition called "Royal Style in the Making". The exhibition was held in the Orangery and ran from June 3, 2021, to January 2, 2022. It was organised by Historic Royal Palaces and included other historic style pieces, such as a rare surviving toile for the 1937 coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth's mother, the Queen Mother.
The exhibition focused on designing outfits for royal clients and the designers who dressed the Queen, Princess Margaret, and the Queen Mother. It also explored the unique relationship between fashion designers and their royal clients and how the partnership between each designer and client worked. In addition, it revealed the process behind the creation of some of the most important couture commissions in royal history.
The wedding dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel and featured a 25-foot train, which filled the aisle of St Paul's Cathedral. The gown was made of ivory taffeta and featured a fitted bodice overlaid with panels of antique Carrickmacross lace that originally belonged to Queen Mary, King Charles III's great-grandmother. The lace was created by Roger Watson Laces, one of their regular suppliers. The dress was hand-embroidered with mother-of-pearl sequins and an estimated 10,000 pearls. It also had lace-trimmed puff sleeves, a ruffled neckline, and a ball gown silhouette.
The exhibition also featured a video in which Ms. Emanuel remembered Diana phoning to ask her and her then-husband to make her dress. She said, "It was one of those strange moments where you know your life is never going to be the same again." In addition to the wedding dress, the exhibition included two of Diana's going-away dresses, loaned by her sons, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.
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It included a hidden 18-carat good luck charm
Princess Diana's wedding dress is considered one of the most iconic gowns ever worn by a royal bride. Designed by the husband-and-wife team of David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the silk-taffeta gown was hand-embroidered with mother-of-pearl sequins and an estimated 10,000 pearls. It featured a 25-foot train, puffy sleeves, a ruffled neckline, and a ball gown silhouette. The dress was so massive that the designers had to relocate to an abandoned wing in Buckingham Palace to cut the train to size.
The dress also included a hidden 18-carat good luck charm—a small horseshoe trinket studded with white diamonds, sewn into the back of the dress. Princess Diana reportedly asked for this addition to bring her extra luck on her big day. Only the Emanuels and Diana knew about this secret detail stitched into the petticoats of the famous wedding gown.
The dress was on display at the Royal Style in the Making exhibition at Kensington Palace, which closed on 2 January 2022. The exhibition also showcased the provenance of the historic lace used in the dress, which once belonged to Queen Mary, King Charles III's great-grandmother.
Princess Diana's wedding ensemble, including her accessories, continues to be remembered as one of the most trendsetting and iconic bridal looks of all time.
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Frequently asked questions
Princess Diana's wedding dress was last exhibited at the Royal Style in the Making exhibition at Kensington Palace, which closed on 2 January 2022.
The Princess Diana Museum in the US displays "The Spare" wedding dress, which was a backup dress created by Elizabeth Emanuel in case the original gown was stolen, burnt in a fire, or its design exposed.
The Princess Diana Museum also displays never-before-seen items from Diana's wedding day, including the original wedding archives from David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
Princess Diana wore an ivory silk taffeta ball gown with a 25-foot train, a 153-yard tulle veil, and puffed sleeves. The dress was hand-embroidered with mother-of-pearl sequins and an estimated 10,000 pearls.
